French qu, from Latin qū. First attested as Middle English cu for half a farthing, as an abbreviation for Latin quadrāns (“quarter of an as”).
Where did the word cue come from?
Cue definition
The word probably comes from the Latin quando, meaning “when,” which was sometimes used as a stage direction in actors’ scripts. Often, the word was abbreviated to Q. Read the letter aloud, and you will understand how “cue” originated.
What do you mean by cue?
a signal
1. : a signal (such as a word, phrase, or bit of stage business) to a performer to begin a specific speech or action. That last line is your cue to exit the stage. : something serving a comparable purpose : hint. I’ll take that yawn as my cue to leave.
Who came up with the word queue?
In 1810, William Duane defined queue as follows: “From the French, which signifies tail; an appendage that every British soldier is directed to wear in lieu of a club. Regimental tails were ordered to be nine inches long.”
What’s the difference between cue and queue?
Cue typically refers to a signal that encourages someone to take an action, while queue indicates an ordered line or file. Both cue and queue are pronounced like the letter Q, and are considered to be homophones. Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings.
What does cue mean in Latin?
tail
cue (n.2) “tail, something hanging down,” variant of queue (n.), ultimately from Latin cauda “tail.” Meaning “long roll or plait of a wig or hair worn hanging down, a pigtail,” is from 1731.
Is queue a Latin word?
Queue comes from the Latin cauda, for tail. Outside the United States it means a line of people or vehicles waiting their turn, so if your English friend talks about queuing up for the movies, that means getting in line for a ticket.
Is cue a real word?
The first records of the term cue come from around 1545. It is the spelled name of the abbreviation q for the Latin quandō, meaning “when.” The abbreviation was used in acting scripts. Cue is mostly used as a noun, but there are several phrases that use cue uniquely.
What is the synonym of cue?
What is another word for cue?
| hint | indication |
|---|---|
| nod | sign |
| signal | suggestion |
| intimation | prompt |
| reminder | prompting |
Where is cue used?
A cue is a long, thin wooden stick that is used to hit the ball in games such as snooker, billiards, and pool.
Why do British call a line a queue?
Queue areas are places in which people queue (first-come, first-served) for goods or services. Such a group of people is known as a queue (British usage) or line (American usage), and the people are said to be waiting or standing in a queue or in line, respectively.
Why do British people say queue instead of line?
This sense of the word persists in American English, but the British replaced it in the 19th century with “queue,” a French word that originally meant “tail” and has roots in the Latin cauda (tail). In English, “queue” didn’t originally mean a line of people.
Is queue a British word?
All ten of the quotes the OED editors chose to represent the history of the word “queue,” from 1837 to 2005, are from English, Irish or Scottish authors. By OED definition, the word is “chiefly British.”
Is cue a Scrabble word?
CUE is a valid scrabble word.
What does I’ll cue you mean?
To signal one to begin to do something. A noun or pronoun can be used between “cue” and “in.” And then I’ll cue in the sopranos for the harmony.
Is ques Greek or Latin?
Latin
-ques- comes from Latin, where it has the meaning “seek; look for; ask. ” This meaning is found in such words as: conquest, inquest, quest, question, request.
What are the two meanings of que?
One of the words that people are looking for when they look up que is queue, a word that means “line” (as in, “We waited in the ticket queue.”) Sometimes people are looking for the homonym cue, or “a signal to start or do something” (“The lights just went out—that’s my cue to start the movie.”).
Is queue a slang word?
“Cue” has a variety of meanings, but all uses of “queue” relate to its original French meaning of “tail,” which becomes a metaphor for a line (beware, however: in French queue is also rude slang for the male sex organ).
What language does the word queue come from?
Old French
Etymology. From Middle English queue, quew, qwew, couwe, from Anglo-Norman queue, keu and Old French cöe, cue, coe (“tail”), from Vulgar Latin cōda, from Latin cauda. See also Middle French queu, cueue.
Does cue still exist?
We are still the largest local manufacturer of fashion in Australia, which we’re very proud of. Cue is available online and has stores throughout Australia and New Zealand. Cue is also available in select Myer and David Jones stores.
Who invented the cue system?
Agner Krarup Erlang
How did queuing theory start? Queuing theory was first introduced in the early 20th century by Danish mathematician and engineer Agner Krarup Erlang. Erlang worked for the Copenhagen Telephone Exchange and wanted to analyze and optimize its operations.